Spark Cast

Welcome to Leviticus. Many themes will emerge, sacrifice, holiness, ritual, purity, etc. But what is all of this really fundamentally about? Some clues can be found in digging deep into the whole narrative of the Bible, and the language that is used in Leviticus. In this opening talk, we discuss the relationship between sacrifice and closeness.

What does the turning of the calendar year mean? How did we end up marking our years? Our seasons? In this talk, we will look at the human tendency to mark our time and calendars by powerful events in history that govern us, inform us, and inspire us in how we are to live.

Few carols or traditions of the Christmas season capture the full weight of the story of Jesus's birth. In the midst of our sacred and pagan rituals, there exists a haunting reality, the death of the babies of Bethlehem at the hands of a ruthless king. On this Sunday we commemorate the "death of the innocents," and remember that this truly is a story for all of us.

A brief devotional thought on light, in this Christmas season.

Good things. Bad things. Stuff happens in our lives. Seeing each event, however, as an opportunity for God to be at work could radically change our hopes and expectations of everything that occurs in our lives.

Drawing on the work of philosopher and social anthropologist from Stanford, René Girard, this talk attempts to dig deep into the fundamental roots of violence, its relationship with religion, and the lessons that those relationships teach all of us.

This Christmas season, we are faced with the beauty and celebration of Christmas juxtaposed to with the darkness and sadness of recent tragic events. From the hymn, "O Little Town Of Bethlehem," the lyric, "The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight," will set the framework for this series, as we tackle difficult and challenging issues such as evil, violence, and how to find hope...

There are two ways to live into this world. One is out of scarcity, a perspective of lacking. The other is out of abundance. Jesus has called us to live out of love, not out of fear, and that is especially true and important in times of uncertainty, and tragedy.

Omair is a Sparker who has studied deeply. In this message he illustrates the power of understanding the full scope of Scripture in light of the recent tragedies of terror.

So after several weeks of discussing the incarnation, what does this mean for us? How do we live "incarnationally?" One answer to that question is found in Philippians 2, and the idea of "humility." Through valuing others above ourselves, we "put love in the gap" of all of our relationships, just like God incarnated that love to us.

"Some glad morning, when this life is o'er, I'll fly away." This beloved hymn, while beautiful, fun, and traditional, speaks of a focus on the gospel that is about sometime in the distant future. Some "celestial shore," that will be made manifest when this life is over. In this message, we refocus our attention on what incarnation means to the phrases "heaven" and "kingdom of God," which is about...

Really, what makes things better is not a response, a reason, a theology to the chaos of our world. What makes things better is someone connecting with something inside of them that connects deeply with us. In other words, "empathy." This week, we discover how the incarnation is God's beautiful expression of empathy, and it is that empathic response that brings hope, redemption, and peace.

What is the incarnation? Why is it significant? What did it mean to the early followers of Jesus? And how is it important for our lives today? These, and other questions, will be addressed as we dig deep into the mysterious beauty that is, the Word becoming flesh.

At the end of our Exodus series, we come to the instructions for the building of the Tabernacle, a place of worship. It is as if we have bookended the story of Exodus, as it began with, "Let my people go so that they may worship me," and it ends with the people doing just that, working and serving God. And this, is the culmination of liberation.

This day we commemorate the feast of Sukkot. Known as the "Feast of Tabernacles" or the "Feast of Booths," this festival commissions us to build "shelters," to remind us of our time wandering in the desert. And as we look to the sky above and the ground below, we realize that God has been sheltering us in his love throughout all of life's transitions.

The giving of the second set of tablets at Mt. Sinai exemplifies God's amazing grace, even in the midst of Israel's adultery. Shall we become stewards of God's grace? And not only to others, but also to ourselves?

Join Spark in raising $10,000 to help in the Syrian refugee crisis. Visit www.sparkchurch.net/teachings for more information, links, and resources. This is love. This is Rescue. This is Spark Church!

The work of peacemaking is challenging and complex. It requires much of us, but it is worth our effort. Rabbi and author of "From Enemy To Friend," Amy Eilberg shares her journey towards the cause of peacemaking in this world, and encourages us to do the same.

In this message, Pastor Mark uses the story of the Golden Calf to illustrate how all of us use power, wealth, theology, and other "idols" to make sense of our world when there is none. For us, it is about taking control when there seeming is none. God's love, however, liberates us from shackling ourselves with the idols we have created.

What the tabernacle is to space, so the Sabbath is to time. And to enter into the construction of the Tabernacle, to embrace the beautiful symbology and resonance of the Tabernacle fashioned after the creation story is to be recreated ourselves.

As we get to the building of the tabernacle, we learn that while the focus is on the details and instructions of the tabernacle, the real building is in the people.

In a Christian culture where the quality and expectations of your "time spent with God" is often scrutinized, by self or by others, this passage encourages and empowers us to simply "be."

Some passages are difficult to read. They are a mix of things we appreciate, and things we abhor. How do we read these difficult passages with our 21st century eyes? In this talk, Pastor Danielle introduces us to a "redemptive movement hermeneutic," how there are progressive steps forward found in the writings that transform the original hearers, and set the conditions for later readers.

Following up from last week, we dig deeper into what it means to see the "Ten Commandments," as part of a rescue plan, rather than a list of moral dictates. Understanding this principle helps us no longer condemn immorality when violations occur, but lead us to once again tell the story of God's rescue work in our lives.

As we get to what is popularly known as the "Ten Commandments," we are going to first pause and see upon what are these sayings built upon. Rather than a moral code, or conditions for relationship, these sayings are designed to confirm the relationship and intimacy of the people with YHWH.